School Board Gets First Hispanic

Ed Garcia became Palm Beach County's first Hispanic to secure a countywide office on Friday, after Gov. Jeb Bush selected him to fill a vacant seat on the School Board.

Garcia, who is 36 and lives in Lake Worth, beat out 16 other applicants to win the governor's nod. He will be sworn in at Wednesday's School Board meeting to fill the remaining months of Jody Gleason's term. Gleason resigned last month to become director of the nonprofit Education Commission. Garcia's term ends Nov. 18, although he said he plans to run for re-election. School Board members make $35,782 a year.

Hispanics in the county have served on state boards, city governments and in the Legislature, but none has ever held a countywide political seat such as School Board or County Commission.

"It's a big step for Hispanics, but it's also a big step for our entire community," Garcia said. "We are a growing part of this community. I'm humbled and very proud to join the School Board. I am committed to improving education for every child in our community."

He said his goals are to look for ways to improve the performance of lower-achieving students and to make the School Board more accountable on how it spends its money. He said he also wants to encourage more involvement on school issues from community residents.

Bush believes Garcia's experience made him the best candidate for the job, said Elizabeth Hirst, a spokeswoman for the governor. Garcia has worked as an aide for former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack and press secretary for state Rep. Burt Saunders, R-Naples. He serves on the school district's Advisory Boundary Committee.

"Much of his wide array of professional and personal experience has had him dealing with the public," Hirst said. "The governor believes he will serve the School Board, parents, students and administrators there well."

Garcia moved from Miami to Palm Beach County eight months ago, prompting critics to say he hasn't lived here long enough to be an effective leader. But his supporters said he has worked tirelessly to learn about the community in the past three months, attending government and civic meetings, where he introduced himself to political and Hispanic leaders.

"Someone who goes out of his way and works as hard as he has, you can only think he's going to do the same for the School Board," said Henry SaldaM-qa, president of the Latino Leadership Institute.

He also found an ally in his boss, Charles Garcia, the chief operating officer of Sterling Financial in West Palm Beach, where Ed Garcia works as director of corporate affairs. Charles Garcia, who is not related to Ed, is a member of the Florida Board of Education and a friend of Bush's. But Charles Garcia said he would only recommend Ed Garcia to the governor if he met all School Board members, county commissioners, top school district administrators and many of the county's Hispanic groups. Ed Garcia did that, his boss said.

Many of the county's political leaders of all races urged the governor to select a Hispanic for the seat. But the vacancy exposed a bitter divisiveness in the Hispanic community. Four Hispanics applied, with supporters of Garcia and West Palm Beach lawyer Ed Gonzalez engaged in the most deep-seated bickering. The supporters shared negative information about the two candidates with newspapers and the governor, including details about a 1988 bankruptcy filed by Garcia and a newspaper article from 2000 in which Gonzalez criticized Bush.

"I'm very disappointed the governor did not select the best- qualified candidate," said Mike Rios, one of Gonzalez's supporters. "I hope Ed [Gonzalez] considers running against Ed Garcia. I think then we can prove he is the best candidate."

Gonzalez said that although he's disappointed, he respects the governor's decision. He is considering running for the seat when it becomes open. Elections will be in September. He will watch how well Garcia does in the next few months.

"I think it's always good to have a Hispanic appointed," he said. "The key question is will he respond and contribute to the Hispanic community. That's still to be seen. I would have."

While Garcia lives in the same district as Gleason, the School Board approved a redistricting plan recently that puts Garcia in District 3, the same as School Board member Bill Graham, who couldn't be reached Friday night. Charles Garcia said one of the reasons he recommended Ed Garcia was that he believed he's electable.

"I think he'll run a good campaign and he'll win," Charles Garcia said. "It's not going to do any good to just have someone on the School Board for seven or eight months."

Scott Travis can be reached at stravis@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6637.